Former UK Amazon CEO Doug Gurr has been appointed interim chairman of the antitrust body

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has a new interim chairman: a former Amazon executive Doug Gurr (picture above).

The announcement comes as the UK tries to position itself as pro-growth, pro-technology by cutting red tape. and bureaucracywith artificial intelligence (AI) takes center stage. The country is approaching the end of a year long study It entered the local cloud services market, keeping Amazon firmly in CMA’s transition.

In it announcement on Tuesday, the government said Gurr would “bring a wealth of experience” from his work in the sector, leaning on his background at Amazon as a means of “boosting development and supporting the economy”.

“This Government has a clear Plan for Change – to boost growth for businesses and communities across the UK” Jonathan ReynoldsThe UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade said in a statement. “As we move forward, we want to see regulators, including the CMA, charging the economy with business-oriented decisions that will drive prosperity and growth, putting more money in people’s pockets.”

A big technological factor

Gurr joined Amazon’s UK division in 2011, initially as VP of the “hardlines” division, focusing on products such as gardening and toys. He moved to become country manager for Amazon’s China business in 2014, then headed up UK operations. in 2016. Gurr left Amazon in 2020 To be the director of the Natural History Museum.

Pull-out chair Markus Bockerinkwho has more consulting than commercial experience, has held the position for less than three years, a relatively short period of time as this position usually lasts up to five years. However, reports shows chancellor Rachel Reeves triggered a changing of the guard after meeting with various UK regulators last week.

It should be noted that although the appointment of Gurr is temporary, he is the general director of CMA Sarah Cardell he was initially appointed interim CEO in 2022 before moving on to the position permanently.

That’s not to say that’s what will happen with Gurr, but it gives a clear indication of the type of person the government wants to chair the country’s antitrust regulator. currently researching large tech firms for any alleged violations.

Alex Haffner, competition partner at law firm Fladgate, says Gurr’s appointment does not come at a time when the UK is “beating the drum for a growth agenda”. He also pointed out that Gurr’s past was “unashamedly commercial” compared to its predecessor.

In addition, the designation raises questions about how the CMA might approach the enforcement of regulations around big technology across verticals.

“What stakeholders will now assess is how the new designation translates into the CMA’s approach to enforcement,” Haffner said in a statement to TechCrunch. “The latest signs are that he has taken note of the criticism of previous decisions and is perhaps ready to be more flexible. Vodafone / Three clearance decisions is an example. However, the new Chair also takes on this role at a time when the CMA is taking on significant new powers under the Act Competition and Consumer Act in Digital Marketsespecially in relation to its control of big technology, meaning that the CMA will be more proactive, although it will be more focused on how to apply it in a way that best stimulates competition and therefore economic growth.

The Open Cloud CoalitionA lobby group backed by Google relaunched in October He “congratulated” Qurr on his appointment as interim chairman to curry favor with European legislators. However, Nikki StewartThe chief counsel of the Open Cloud Coalition has urged the regulator not to lose sight of its ongoing investigation into the cloud services market, which has found Amazon to be the runaway market leader.

“As the CMA’s cloud market review enters a critical phase, we urge the regulator to stay the course and take decisive action to create a fairer, more competitive cloud market that benefits businesses, consumers and the wider digital economy,” Stewart said. A statement to TechCrunch. “The cloud industry can only thrive if there is a level playing field, and as our position paper outlines, meaningful intervention is essential to unlock innovation and investment in the sector.”